PAC Announces 2021 Spring Football Schedule; Tartans to Play Five Games

(NEW WILMINGTON, Pa.) – The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) has announced a preliminary spring scheduling model and postseason championship opportunity for football after competition was postponed in August in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The spring football schedule will feature conference-only competition and provide student-athletes with the option of extending their participation by completing only 50 percent or less of the sport's maximum contests or dates of competition.

On July 9, the NCAA Division III Administrative Committee approved a recommendation from the Division III Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement to provide a blanket season-of-participation waiver in all sports that are unable to reach the 50 percent threshold, ensuring student-athletes have four meaningful seasons of participation opportunities. Student-athletes will not use a season of eligibility for participating in the spring games.

Below is the outline of the football scheduling model that will be used in the spring of 2021.

Start: Friday, March 12
Finish: Friday, April 23
Scheduling model: The league's 10 football-playing schools will be split into a North Division and South Division. Each school will play four in-division games, followed by a North Division-South Division crossover game. The five-game schedule will be played over seven weeks, with each team having two open dates.
North Division (5): Case Western Reserve University, Geneva College, Grove City College, Thiel College, Westminster College
South Division (5): Bethany College, Carnegie Mellon University, Saint Vincent College, Washington & Jefferson College, Waynesburg University
Postseason format: North Division-South Division crossover games will be determined by seeding after the conclusion of the four-game season.
Determining PAC Championship: The No. 1 North vs. No. 1 South game will determine this year's PAC champion.

Friday, April 23
PAC North Division-South Division Crossover Games
No. 5 North vs. No. 5 South; No. 4 North vs. No. 4 South; No. 3 North vs. No. 3 South; No. 2 North vs. No. 2 South; No. 1 North vs. No. 1 South
Note: All crossover games will be played at the opposite site of the 2019 regular season game between the two schools.

Carnegie Mellon's Game Schedule:
Friday, March 12 – Bye
Friday, March 19 – Saint Vincent
Friday, March 26 – at Waynesburg
Friday, April 2 – Bye
Friday, April 9 – at Washington & Jefferson
Friday, April 16 – Bethany
Friday, April 23 – Crossover Game (TBA)

Carnegie Mellon University and the Department of Athletics is continuing to explore spring schedule opportunities for other fall sports.

"We are excited to have a spring football season to look forward to, and we are hopeful that the landscape will allow us to get back on the field safely in March," said Director of Athletics Josh Centor. "We continue to explore scheduling options for other fall championship sports and hope to have more details on those plans in the coming weeks."